It was a walled in neighborhood with its own security. I didn’t live there, but I was a chameleon, changing to suit my environment. A pair of glasses and a brush through my hair, a polo
shirt and a pair of khakis and suddenly the people would wave at me and smile. I wandered around just looking. I had no real plan, just a need, but I figured that given time I would
find something.

He was in the front yard just a young boy no older than seven. He was playing with some trucks and I stood across the street watching. I came back the next day early and saw his mom put
him out to play. He stayed there all day and she barely glanced out the window to check on him.

I figured he got the same talk all kids got, don’t talk to strangers, but I made sure I wasn’t a stranger. I wandered by his house every day for a week. I would smile and wave at him as
he sat there playing. I finally waved him over and he came. I held out a piece of candy for him and he took it. I knew then he would come with me.

I came by with a ball and asked if he wanted to play catch and he got excited. I told him we couldn’t do it here, too many windows. When he told me, his mom told him never to leave the
yard I told him I had talked to her and it was ok. I led him into the woods and to a patch of open ground by a road.

I had chosen this spot because the drivers sped along the road so all I had to do was get him in the road. We started tossing the ball back and forth and I slowly moved us nearer to the
road. I waited until I saw a car coming on fast then I threw the ball over his head into the road.

He ran to get the ball and the car bumper slammed into him. He went flying down the road like a football punted down field. He bounced and skidded and finally came to a stop a bloody
torn mess. The driver was out of his car running towards him, not even a glance was thrown my way as I ducked back into the woods.

I read later that a few people had mentioned seeing the boy playing with an older kid, but nobody could get a description. The family in an attempt to do something about their child’s death
had fought to have a posted speed limit on that stretch of road.

I went back weeks later to visit the memorial they built at the site. It was hard to decide, but I finally took a small stuff bear. Something to remember my first by.